“What?” I roll my eyes, fighting the urge to melt into a puddle. It doesn’t help that he’s always shirtless, showing off those abs that could probably grate cheese. “Sex?”
“No.” He shakes his head, looking almost offended. “This closeness between us. I’ve never known this before, and it’s all I want. I want to live in this space, just me and you.”
My heart does something stupid and fluttery, but I force myself to stay rational. “But there’s a whole world out there, and it’s gonna come knocking at some point.”
His lips brush mine as he murmurs, “But not right now.”
And fuck if I don’t just melt into him as he starts kissing me, those clever fingers working magic on my waist. My leg wraps around his hip automatically, and his wing sweeps over us like we’re in our own private world. My heart starts hammering, and suddenly being tired is the last thing on my mind.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe the rest of the world can just disappear for a while longer.
Maybe there can be just me and him. And this.
God, I want this to be real so badly it physically hurts. I want this to last. I want the realness of it, not just the escape I originally hoped for. I’m starting to want an actuallifehere. A real life, with this person who shows me little pieces of himself like precious gifts.
All these good feelings and endorphins are intoxicating as hell. He’s always finding excuses to touch me—while we’re walking, while I was baking yesterday. Yeah, I made cookies. Sue me. The man can summon gourmet food from anywhere in the world, but a kitchen that nice deserves to be used. Plus, baking’s always been my zen thing.
This morning he asked if I trusted him, and when I said yes, he took me flying.
I backed away immediately. “Nope. Nuh-uh.”
But he laughed and reminded me I’d just said I trusted him. “I’ll go slow,” he promised, “so you can really see.”
It was different this time. He held me tight against him, his tail wrapped around me like a safety harness. His wings worked like a paraglider above us as we glided over the most gorgeous countryside I’ve ever seen. Everything was so green it almost hurt to look at, the sky impossibly blue. The lake below sparkled like someone had scattered diamonds on it.
My breath got stolen by the beauty—and yeah, the terrifying height—but weirdly enough, I did trust him. Even after knowing him for like five minutes in the grand scheme of things.
When we landed and my feet hit solid ground, I was still clutching his arm like a lifeline as we walked back to the castle.
These last few days have been like the world’s most amazing extended date. I can’t explain it, but it feels like I’ve known him forever, even though our worlds couldn’t be more different.
And maybe because of that closeness, I want to jump his bones about every other second. I want to explore his body the way he explored mine by the lake. I want to ask him a thousand questions and figure out if any of the things I’m thinking about him are real or just romantic delusion.
Because more than anything, I want him to be real. I wantthisto be real. Which is probably just wishful thinking on steroids.
“You are quiet,” he says, breaking the silence as his wings settle, letting the morning light back in. The sunrise is painting everything pink behind him. “What is happening inside your head?”
I laugh and duck my head, suddenly shy. I’m hyperaware of my leg around his hip, how it’s opening me up to him.
“Well, actually, I was sort of wondering the same thing. What we did by the lake... and just all of this. Getting to know you. Thishas all been such an intense experience. I’m wondering... who you are.”
He frowns, confused. “I’ve told you and shown you. I’m Remus, god-born from the life spark stolen from the Great Hall?—”
“No,” I laugh, cutting him off. “I mean, I’m starting to get that part. Not that I can really wrap my head around it, but I get it. I’m talking about who you are.” I press my hand to his chest, and he immediately covers it with his, holding it there. “On the inside. Who is Remus? What kind of person are you?”
He frowns again, like I’ve asked him to solve quantum physics. “No one’s ever asked me that. I have only been myself. Brother to my brothers.”
“Who would they say you are?”
I flip my hand to take his, our fingers intertwining between our chests. He looks down at our joined hands like he’s seeing something miraculous, and I almost pull back from embarrassment. But then he squeezes, and that small smile spreads across his face—softer than his usual wild grin. Like he looks... contented. At least until he starts talking about his family.
“My brothers might not have the kindest words to say about me.” He winces, pulling back a little. The whole push-pull thing we’ve been doing is driving me insane. We’ll get close, then just when I think he’s about to make a move, he doesn’t. “Battle was the only language our father understood. Brothers fight, naturally. And our father thought we could only become the best if we fought the best—which was each other. Our epic battles could span days, weeks, months in the worst cases, and destroy huge chunks of land before our father finally declared a victor.”
“Months? Just fighting each other?”
He nods like it’s totally normal. “Lately, it has been different. We have been... more friendly. But that’s new. We’re all verystrong in different ways. And our father was very demanding.” His mouth twists.
“But what about when you weren’t fighting? What was your family like then?”
